Machine for raising barrels



A ril '4 29 1924;

F, J. NOLAN MAQHLNE FOR RAISING BARRELS Filed June 22. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR fir/4N0: J Nam/v BY WITNESS /fi- 5 f; ATTORNEYS" 1924. 1,4913% Apnl F. 4.. NQLAN MACHINE FOR RAISINQ BAERELis Filed June 22, 1-921 5 fiheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS INVTENTQR 5711/1 05! flaw/v April 29 1924. 1,491,878

F. J. NOLAN MACHINE FOR RAISING BARRELS Filed June 22 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR A- 2 IJW- firm/v0.5 J. A/M'A/ I ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 29, 1924..

PATENT FRANCIS mama, or oaxnann; cetrronnra.

. MAcr rnn non Rais ns serpents.

I Application. filed June "22, 1921 Serial No. 179,582.

To' all whom limo/y concern: I

Be it known that 1,; FRANCIS Nor en, a citizen of the United States of America,

and a resident of Oakland, county of (S Alameda, and State of Ca1ifornia,'haveinventedv a new and V useful Machine for Thising Barrels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to barrel making machinery and oneof the objects of the invention is to provide a machine for raising barrels on the bilge. Another object of the invention is to provide a machinein which the staves. constituting the barrel are assemblcd'lineally that is, side by side in a row, and then transformed intoj a circular or cylindrical assembly. Anotherobject of the invention is the provision of a machine in which the staves are mechanically arranged in circular or cylindrical assembly and both ends windlassed or contracted to head size at the same time.

My. invention possesses many other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing,- will be set forth in the following description of my invention. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to .the showing made by the said de scription, asI may ado-pt variant forms of my invention within the scope of the claims. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view'of my machine. Fig. 2 is asideelevation, and

F ig. 3 an end elevationof the machine. Fig.

4 is a vertical section, the plane of section being indicated by the line'H of Fig. 3.

In my machine the steps of raising and windlassing are performed and, because of the manner in which the staves are handled, leveling is also accomplished so that separate handling of the barrel for this purpose is avoided. Breakage ofthe stave during trussing as now practiced in the art is of more or less frequent occurrence and an item of considerable loss. This is partially obviated by steaming the staves in some cases. While steaming may also befpracticed with my apparatus, the necessity for it is much lessened since a stave which -by.the hand process is almost. certain to be broken when .the barrel is windlassed, will not be injured in my machine. i I A 4 My; machine comprises i a conveyor frame including the ,guide'rails 2 and 3 which at one end areflmounted by means of brackets 4 upon. theshaft ti journalledin suitablefloor stands 7. The shaft is adjustable longitudinally of the machine by means of set screws' 8 and the shaft is driven by a clutch 9 interposed between the shaft and the pulley 1-1 which is connected by belt 12 to the motor 13. Normally the clutch is engaged by means of the spring 14 but may be disengaged by a foot lever 16 placedcconvenie'nt to theworkman and connected to the clutcli by suitable mechanism including the yoke 17, shaft 18, lever arm 19 and link 21'. The other end of the conveyor frame is provided with brackets 22 which are. mounted on'the fixed shaft 23, secured in vertically movable blocks 24 slidably arranged in the pedestals 26. The blocks are 'contro-lled'as to height by means of the screws 27' which are geared to the transverse shaft 28, rotated to raise or lower the shaft 23 as required by the hand wheel 29. Suitable adjustment of the bearings of the shaft 6 being made'at the same time.

The guide rails 2 and 3 are adapted to carry conveyor chains 31 and 32 respectively of the roller type, the upper reaches of the chains rolling along the guide rails. These chains are driven by sprockets .33 fixed on ,the' shaft 6, andat the other end pass over sprockets34= rotatablymounted on the fixed shaft, 23. The outer ends of the guide rails are provided with the vertically extending walls 36, but are open atthe top to permit the laying oft-he staves upon the conveyor chains; Thecha ins are provided at suitable intervalswith upwardly extending .studs 37 which are so spaced that the exact number of staves required to form the barrel may be laidcon the conveyor between two sets ofstuds. As the conveyor moves pastthe workman he lays the staves thereon, and if the last stave to be placed is too narrow or too wide. as indicated by the studs pressure on the. lever 16 disengages' the clutchand stops the conveyor until a stave of suitablewidth is selected and placed to finish out that particular group of staves.

At the inner end of the conveyor frame the guide railsarecovered with plates 38 so that buckling: of the successionof staves is avoidedas the conveyor forces the staves out of the guide rails into the forming heads.

Mounted oneachpedest'al 26 is a head4l aline'djin'a vertical plane with the ends of thes'tave'sg ,ord'erto provide for different i sised bam'els, di'iferent sized" heads are providod for, my machined such different 7 sizedieads being interchangeable, and-itliei shaft o 28 being raised or lowered, as the case may he, to properly aline the conveyor with the particular head used. Eaoh head comprises with an annular flange &3 ,thru which a tangential slottis formed a disk 42 formed A ooilspring 5O seated at one end i i'thehub 51 and extending into each hollow slide re;

' siliently presses the i slide outwardly in a,

radiahdirection. A-, stop 52 onl the' inner end of the} slide limits the outward i'movement of the slide and its" arcuate; head, so th atfthe Y annular vayilfi is eta widthsome-j what less: than v the thickness of the "stave which itreceives. flnforderfto' have'a pontinuous inner wall for the annular way the" adjacent ends of adjacent arcuatel .heads are notched together or interlocked, giving: a p I i y l n s/ 89 a d'9 p v tle gto r 1 t continuous peripherysbut not interfering with the radial movement .of'the slides, 11

I Movement of the conveyor? foroes'theis'uc;

oession of staves'thereon chm the tangential p I ee -devise i l??? Fig. 2 so thatwh'en closed about the endsof the assembled staves the staves are forced slots 44 into the annular ways As th'e'last,

stave of the 1 succession enters the 5 annular.-

ways; thefirfst stave'closes in behind it and the studs 37 tong-the conveyor chain turn downwardly over the sproclritfid thus" leav' I ing the stavesincylindrical assemblyjin the; head; oontiguousA staves engaging V on the f -As the succession of sta'vefs is forced around .the'annular-waysithe leading; staves are prevented from'fffalling down-Q wardly in the ways by the resilientpressiiref bilge line.

exerted against them by the arcuateheads of the slides. For a similarppurposa l prefer to providela'lso anumber of fiatsprings 53each fi x edltov a lug 545 set inf'the flan'gez 43, and engaging resiliently? the outside of thestaves .w After the lineal assembly of the staves on the oonveyorhasbeen converted into thgioy:

i he hwdihe. end o the o staves are pressed inwardly ed that; the

pressure theirigid 'cu'rveof thewind lind'ric al assembly edgesof adjacent staves are en'gaged thruout"the entire length of thel sta'ves. inward "movement of the ends of the aves; f is permitted by the structure of'thefinner l f h W What is .b f el ii b yl f mounted arcuate members 47 L Arranged? above the flongitudin-al axis? of the "conveyor? frame "is an I beain v5d upon 1 mount edQ by, means of roll'er s" 57 the cair' I 8 Movement Qof the' icarriagel is fefie means} oia ram; the" cylinder of iwhi securedfltothe arriagefand the i ei 'iori'whichf ec'urdiby "than f tb th e s; o adjacent. staves are engaged forthej full length ofjthestaves.

sure," is admitted toth'e' "cylmder means" of, a v ve perated by h 1 ver 3- Pw y handl 61: pla d nveiii k thef perator and connected to the valve arm by suitable levers and links. The valve is suppliedwith fluid thi'u a"-1":le2 ible hose 66 connected to any suitable source of supply.

'Joni-nailedinbrackets 67 on the carriageand being 4 connected t o a'p o gii cylinder" 1861s P o ar'n's and" 6 9 79 constitute a windcurved as shown n I lEe heith i d' 'i i ll t" rod 74,

3, andpiston rofd rock; shaft 9lgwhi ch is operated byitli'e con-i i iiently catedfll ve a h. P

inwa dlylin like degree fand simultaneously so' 'that the adjacent edges of "Durin' s ems that as save are being" Y introduced into the; annular ways of the heaid,' the iwi'r' dlassing' armsor" jaws ga're p edi fi fisi n v p r i th a f thestaves intdthe annular wa s Upon the completion ofthe'bircular assembly" of the staves, the control lever" is" manipulated v to admit. fluid under 1 pressure to" the' cylinders 'lfi and 86"tliiis forcibly' olosing the windlassj'iri gi j aws *u'p on thestaves' adj ace'nt ptheirflendsl Since f the. staves are bent inu wardlyffroniftlie bilge, and at eaeh endfst milltaneouslyytlierei is little" likelihoodfof breakage. Furthermore'the evenly applied la sfsing j aws results' in thei'more even setting of thestaves so tliiat,muchfoflthe labo r'usui d 1 9 Per ally req'u fect theipo'sitio n of" the staves in" the barrel is] avoided. The necessity foi'l leveliiig isga'ls'o removed 'siiice the After .i t 1e naensvs on the top of each pedestal 26. The blocks are of arch form and each is provided with a transverse pin 96 adapted to engage in the slot 97 formed in one end of the lever 98 which is pivoted in the pedestal, and on the other end of which is pivotally mounted a nut 99 engaging the threaded end of the shaft 101 which traverses the machine and is controlled by the hand wheel 102. The

ends of the shaft 101 are provided with double threads of long pitch so that with a rotation of the hand wheel 102 the heads 11 are moved quickly toward or away from each other. Suitable stops 103 and 104k limit the movement of the blocks 94.

As soon as the heads 41 have been withdrawn, the control lever 64; is manipulated to move the carriage so that the barrel is carried forward to a new position. The trussing hoops are then applied and the control lever 92 manipulated to open the windlassing jaws to release the barrel. The carriage is then moved back into position adjacent the heads and the process repeated.

Where the thickness of the staves makes it desirable to steam them before they are windlassed, I arrange a steam box upon the conveyor frame which is, inthis case, considerably elongated. Such a device is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and consists of a suitable housing 106 built around the conveyor and supplied thru pipes 107 with steam from any suitable source.

While I have explained the machine of my invention in connection with the manufacture of barrels it is to be understood that my invention applies equally Well to kegs, buckets, kits, or other structure formed by the assembling of staves.

I claim:

1. A machine forraising barrels comprising a pair of spaced heads formed with alined annular ways, means for introducing a succession of staves into said ways, a carriage, means on said carriage for pressing the ends of the staves inwardly to engage the edges of adjacent staves whereby the assembled staves may be maintained so pressed and shifted beyond the range of the heads,'and means for separating-the heads.

2. A machine for raising barrels comprising a pair of spaced heads formed with alined annular ways, means for introducing a succession of staves into said ways, a carriage, means on said carriage for pressing the ends of the staves inwardly'to engage the edges of adjacent staves whereby the. assembled staves may be maintained so pressed and shifted beyond the range of the heads,

means for separating the heads, and means for moving said carriage.

8. A machine for raising barrels comprising a pair of spaced vertically disposed heads formed with alined annular ways, means for introducing a succession of staves into said ways adjacent the bottoms thereof, and. means for retarding or gradually slowing down the movement ofthe first stave as the last stave enters the ways.

4. A machine for raising barrels comprising a pair of spaced heads formed with alined annular ways,,means for introducing a succession of staves into. said ways, a carriage, jaws arranged on said carriage for pressing the ends of said staves inwardly to engage the edges of adjacent staves whereby the assembled staves may be maintained so pressed and shifted beyond the range of the heads, and means for operating said jawsQ 5. A machine for raising barrels comprising a pair of spaced heads formed with alined annular ways, means for introducing a succession of staves into said ways, a carriage, means on said carriage for pressing the ends of said staves inwardly to en gage the edges of-adjacent staves and for holding the staves together in such position, means for: separating said heads to release therefrom the assembled staves, and

means for moving the carriage to position 7 the assembled staves for a subsequent operation thereon.

6. In a machine for raising barrels, a head having a fixed flange forming the outer wall of an annular way for receiving the ends of these staves in cylindrical assembly, arcuate members forming the inner wall of said way and movable inwardly as the ends of the staves are forced inwardly to engage the edges of adjacent staves, and springs for pressing said arcuate members outwardly.

7. in machine for raising barrels, a head having a fixed flange forming the outer wall of an annular way on the head, arcuate members having interlocking ends slidable on said head in radial lines and forming the inner wall of said way, means for feeding staves into said way, means for pressing the ends of the staves inwardly to engage the edges of adjacent staves, and for conveying the assembled staves so held from the heads, means for retracting the heads to release the staves, and springs for pressing said arcuate members outwardly.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto se m hand.

i y runners J. NOLAN. 

